Looking at my first Pack - Opinions Please!

I'm looking to get my own pack, and would like to hear opinions of those with more experience ...

I borrowed a friend's Deuter Futura Vario 50+10 Backpack. It fit all my gear, plus some items that I no longer plan to take with me. This pack weighs in a 2.24 kg (~ 5lbs)

Consequently, I'm looking for something in the 60 L, or so, range for all my gear.

I do have a Ribz pack that handles up to 8 L of stuff, allowing me to be a bit more flexible with the main pack.

I'm a hammocker with Down Top and Under quilts. I'm pretty new to the scene and don't pretend to know very much.

I tend to take care of my gear, no matter what the sport. On the pack I borrowed, I did treat it with a lot of respect, as I would my own, but I'd like to avoid anything that is really delicate.

I quite liked the airflow design of the Deuter pack, but I'm open to the more traditional style as well. (I tend to have a fair amount of back sweat, based on daypacks I've used)

My base (Back)pack Weight, WITHOUT Food, Water, or the Pack itself is currently around 19 lbs.
- I left out the pack in the measurement to give a universal reference, independant of the pack.
This is assuming some gear would be in the Ribz Pack, weighed separately.

At the moment, I'm not worrying too much about pricing ... I can always take some more time to save up.


From my research, I've made a list of some packs that look interesting:

Maker....................Model ....... Size ...............Weight ..... Max. suggested Carry

ULA ..................... Circuit........ 68 L ............. 1110 g ..... Up To 35 lbs

ULA ..................... OHM 2.0 .... 63 L ............... 822 g ..... Up to 30 lbs

Gossamer Gear ....... Mariposa.... 70 L ............... 808 g ..... Up To 35 lbs

Gossamer Gear ....... Gorilla ....... 47 L ............... 793 g ..... Up To 35 lbs

Osprey .................. Exos 58 .... 58 L ............. 1200 g ..... Up To 40 lbs

Osprey .................. Exos 48 .... 48 L ............. 1130 g ..... Up To 35-40 lbs

ZPacks .................. Arc Blast .. 52 L ............... 468 g ..... Up to 30 lbs

ZPacks .................. Arc Blast .. 45 L ............... 454 g ..... Up to 30 lbs

Elemental Horizons ... Kalais ...... 53 L ............... 882 g ..... Up To 35 lbs

Elemental Horizons ... Kalais ...... 61.5 L ............. 879 g ..... Up To 35 lbs

Six Moon Designs ..... Flight 40 .. 48 L ............... 907 g ..... 35+ lbs

Six Moon Designs ..... Fusion 50 . 50 L ............. 1020 g ..... "whatever gear you need"



I think the Gorilla, smaller Arc Blast, and the Flight 40 are going to be a little small at this point. I figure a slightly bigger pack would also give more room for keeping the down expanded, so the space won't be wasted.


The ULA Circuit seems to have a good following with many users, which is a good selling point. I've been using it like a baseline to compare other lightweight packs against. It does seem a bit bigger than I'd need.

I'm leaning towards the larger Arc Blast, as it has the airflow style suspension, and along with the Ribz will provide about the same volume as the pack I borrowed.

The exos are the others with the airflow suspension, but are quite a bit heavier. On the plus side, I can try them in locally in store.

The mariposa looks fairly decent for one with a solid back and good on weight. Seems like a good compromise on all fronts. Not sure of the durability compared to the circuit though. The extra volume can be cinched down to keep the size reasonable.

I don't know much about the Six moon or Elemental packs. Only what I have read on their websites. They look interesting though.

What are your thoughts on this?

Thanks!

I'm a big fan of the ULA Circuit; I don't think it's all that big, and my limited experience with hammock camping suggests a little more volume for that approach anyway (though that might not be universally true).

I have a good bit of experience with the Gossamer Gear Mariposa Plus too. I was happy with it, and it's lighter than the ULA models, but a lot less durable. Maybe durable enough for most people, however, if care is taken with it.

The ULA models seem to me to hit a sweet spot between cost, weight, durability, and "just the right" features.

A friend had a bad experience with an older SMD (Six Moon Designs) pack, but as I understand it, Brian Frankle (former owner and creator of ULA) is working with Ron at SMD now, so ... who knows. If those two can agree on a design it will likely be something pretty good (?). I don't know if anything with Brian's fingerprints on it has come out of SMD yet, however. You could always check their site or just call and ask. These smaller companies are typically pretty approachable.

I think I'm done looking for pack alternatives now however; if and when I ever wear out my Circuit I'll likely just buy another one.

The new packs out of SMD (they ditched their old pack line completely at the end of 2013) are all Brian Frankle's designs. i've read both good and bad about them. Not being in the market for a pack (my 2005 SMD Comet is holding up just fine), I haven't investigated beyond the stage of slight curiosity. I've heard of a few fit problems with smaller persons and females, which may or may not be true. Should my current pack die, I'll be looking at ULA (Ohm 2.0) and Elemental Horizons (Kalais).

For the OP: Note that a number of these small outfits will do some customization for you--you have only to ask!

Also, for the OP, since you're still on the heavy end of lightweight, you do not want a frameless pack. Those are fine for those whose total pack weight is about 20 lbs, but yours will be in the 30's when you add food, fuel and water. The kind with removable stays are OK (you can remove the stays for weekends and day hikes) but those stays should be connected to the hip belt in some way for better support. I personally would subtract 5 lbs. from the maximum weight listed, but that is for me (old lady with super-sensitive shoulders), not necessarily for you.

As generally advised, buy your other gear first (sounds as though you have at least most of it) and have it all ready with the equivalent in weight and bulk of a week's food and a day's water. As soon as the pack arrives, load it up with your gear and take a 2-3 hour hike around the house, without removing tags. If it doesn't feel like a good pack for you, send it back! Better to pay return shipping charges on several packs than to be stuck with a pack that doesn't fit properly!

OP, should you chance to take a trip to Portland, you'll be able to try ULA packs at the Next Adventure store downtown and SMD packs at SMD's store in Beaverton (which has limited hours, so call for appointment).

The Circuit is my long-trip pack--I have others for shorter trips when I only need 50 liters or less. It's definitely tough, it's pretty comfortable, better as the week goes on, and load control is good for such a light pack. It will accommodate a canister, which is important in the west. Importantly, you can get myriad fit options.

That's my only experience with the packs on your list.

Cheers,

Just stand around a trail head for a few hours and watch all the packs go by, none the same. Just goes to show you that my opinion on your pack means nothing. Id suggest skipping a list and simply going to a store and trying them on. If you where looking at cars? That list might help..:)

The problem with going to the store and just trying them on is that most stores only carry a few brands, and generally they aren't what I'm looking for.

Most of the packs local to me, in the size I'm looking at, are really heavy and come with a bunch of features I don't need.

The pack I borrowed for my last trip was 20% of my total weight. To me that seems pretty high.

(I'm currently in a toss up between the Mariposa and the Circuit. neither of which I can try or look at locally.)

Most "cottage manufacturer" gear such as is on your list is sold only online, which means you must be prepared to pay shipping costs, both ways if the pack doesn't work out. Consider it part of the price of the pack. Have the rest of your gear ready, as I already described, and load up the pack as soon as it arrives. A few hours' "hike" around the house will tell you if the pack will work for you. If it isn't comfortable, send it back promptly. Check the manufacturer's return policy before ordering.

The reason this gear is sold only online is because it is manufactured in very small quantities, usually locally with only a few employees, and the manufacturing cost per unit is far too high to allow for another 40% retail markup. Plus most retailers want to carry only national brands which come in large quantities.

It does help to contact the manufacturer and discuss your needs in detail before ordering. Both ULA and Gossamer Gear have outstanding customer service.